Honoring today’s soldiers

A local couple wants to immortalize the sacrifices and service of the brave men and women who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And they are doing it by donating a granite memorial of an American soldier, in modern military uniform, standing guard in front of an American flag flanked by “USA” blocks.

Debra and Mark Blain, owners of Fireplace Mantels Etc. in Millbury, were inspired to produce a full-size model in clay on their own and then authorized their Chinese artisan overseas to carve a soldier’s monument out of granite.

Mrs. Blain said she was trying to convey in the sculpture, especially in the face, a sense of innocence.

“I wanted him to look like the boy next door,” she said. “The first time the carver did the face, it was a little bit older looking than I wanted and I said, ‘He looks like late 20s. I want him to look 18,’ because those are the ones that are being called over there.”

Mrs. Blain said that, too often, memorials are erected long after the war has ended and when the young people who have served our country are forgotten. That is why she and her husband took it upon themselves to honor these young men and women today and show care for them now.

“These kids come home lost,” Mrs. Blain said. “I think to celebrate and honor them might give them a sense of peace. They need a sense to know that we respect the fact that they have gone and done this for us.”

Mr. Blain said there are plenty of well-deserved monuments already for those who served in World War II and the Vietnam War. Now, he said, it’s time to honor those who protect the United States in these times. “There’s nothing around to say that we’re at war and we’re losing bodies daily,” Mr. Blain said. “We need to have them at least feel that they were standing up for something, because to come back and have nobody even talking about the war, nobody even saying anything at all, they come back lost, emotionally lost.”

One night, the couple watched the HBO film, “Taking Chance.” The film depicted a U.S. Marine lieutenant (played by Kevin Bacon) escorting home the body of a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Iraq. Then, what they were going to do with the monument sitting in their business’ yard for more than a year made perfect sense: Donate it to a community that may desire or deserve such a memorial.

“ ‘Taking Chance’ gave you such a good feeling,” Mrs. Blain recalled. “And we looked at each other after the movie and I said, ‘I don’t want to sell this monument. I want to donate it to some community that is deserving of it.’ ”

Local communities interested in applying for the monument should submit a letter indicating their design implementation for the statue and reasons why their community would be a good candidate to benefit from such a gift, the cost of which Mr. Blain estimates to be in the $25,000 range.

Letters of application should be addressed to Fireplace Mantels Etc., 11 McCracken Road, Millbury, MA 01527. The donation includes the monument, delivery and placement. Deadline for applications is May 31. For further information, photos, or to schedule an interview with the owner, call (508) 341-7151.

The monument will be awarded on July 4 by a committee of former military personnel, including Michael S. Figlioli, VFW Department Service officer at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Boston.

“I think it’s such a fantastic idea,” Mr. Figlioli said. “I was more than happy to get involved in the process when she (Mrs. Blain) called me. Every city or town has memorials to various conflicts, and I think this would be an excellent way to honor those who served in the latest conflict.”

Four years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Blain met with the Veterans Memorial Corridor Advisory Committee in Auburn about the possibilities of getting involved in the extensive beautification project. While the small importer of granite and marble statuary didn’t get the job, the Blains were enthusiastic about making a monument and they want it to go to a place visible to all, especially to veterans coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I’m just hoping that a town approaches us and comes up with just a simple implementation design for us that will honor it,” Mrs. Blain said. “What I like to see happen is to have them have a sense of feeling that this could be someplace they can congregate. It’s not to honor the deceased. It’s to honor the boys and girls that are coming back.”

“Show me you’re going to put it someplace where kids will drive by it, or their parents will drive by it,” Mr. Blain said. “`I don’t want to see it off in some closet little park that has no visibility. Then, I might as well do it myself on my own land.”